There’s no Colin from Accounts-ing for taste

It’s press release time! Or, more accurately, here’s something we saw on TV Tonight:

Season Two of Colin From Accounts, written by and starring Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, will be premiere on Binge / Showcase in May.

Returning cast members are Emma Harvie, Genevieve Hegney, Michael Logo, Helen Thomson, Darren Gilshenan, Annie Maynard and Tai Hara.

Joining for season two is Celeste Barber (Wellmania, The Letdown) as Katie, Virginia Gay (Savage River, Safe Home) as Rumi, Justin Rosniak (The Surfer, Mr Inbetween) as Alistair, Lynne Porteous (Home and Away, The Commons) as Dawn and John Howard (SeaChange, The Merger) as Brian.

Virginia Gay said: “It’s very rare that you get to walk onto the set of your favourite show and become a part of it. I love this show with all my heart, and the reason that it’s so brilliant is because of the Patty-and-Harrietness of it. They are a joy to be around, and that joy is all over the screen.”

John Howard said: “I am so excited to be joining the cast of Colin from Accounts. The series has made so many people around the world laugh and it is a hilarious take on bouncing through love and life, warts and all. Well, no warts as far as I know of…”

Justin Rosniak said, “Colin From Accounts is the best show in Australia, hands down. If you’re not laughing your head off, you’re bawling your eyes out. It is truly an honour to be a part of this magical experience.”

In season two Ash and Gordon are now living together and trying to get their beloved, special needs dog, Colin, back from his new owners. It’s the first in a series of hurdles for the new couple, as they find out more about each other, for better and worse.

Colin From Accounts is produced by Easy Tiger Productions (Jack Irish, Rake, The Twelve) and CBS Studios with Rob Gibson, Ian Collie, Patrick Brammall, Harriet Dyer, Trent O’Donnell, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Lana Greenhalgh serving as executive producers and Kevin Greene producing. O’Donnell returns as set-up director, with Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope taking the reins for three episodes and Madeleine Dyer returning to direct an episode.

Thursday May 30 on Binge / 8.30pm on Showcase.

The return of any Australian series should be a moment of joy, especially in these lean comedy times, but it’s hard to get excited about this one. Two years ago, when the first series was announced we said:

We’re predicting mildly eccentric characters, low-stakes peril, and minimal belly-laughs.

This isn’t the kind of show that’s designed to be funny. It’s the kind of show that’s designed to be sold to international streaming services looking for inoffensive dramedies in mildly exotic locales.

And, yeah, we were right. Oh, look! The BBC bought the second series sight unseen after the first series became popular in the UK.

Remember when Colin from Accounts won Best New Comedy in the 2022 Australian Tumbleweeds Awards and the best any of the people who voted for it could say was:

This was a mediocre year.

But why is this series, which tries to be funny and charming and relatable, but is actually a bit of a dog’s breakfast, so successful? We think the show’s secret is that key factor in any comedy’s success: timing. Although sadly not the sort of timing which makes jokes work.

Colin from Accounts landed as the Covid-19 pandemic was coming to an end. Lots of people were signed up to multiple streaming services and were looking for something light-hearted and uncomplicated to watch. Colin from Accounts fit the bill at a time when there were fewer options than usual.

So, while this is a show which can boast international sales and multiple award wins and nominations, its real secret is it was there at the right time to meet a need. But several years on, with a cost of living crisis and multiple wars raging around the world, will Colin from Accounts still be the kind of show people want to see?